Corey Smith, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee; Corey Smith, Petitioner, v. Julie L. Jones

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Smith’s postconviction claims and denied his habeas petition, rejecting challenges concerning amendment of the motion, newly discovered evidence, ineffective assistance, disclosure violations, and lethal injection. It nevertheless vacated Smith’s death sentences because the penalty-phase error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt where the jury’s death recommendations were nonunanimous and the jury made no unanimous findings regarding aggravation or mitigation. Justice Polston, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have affirmed the death sentences rather than vacating them under Hurst.